travellamb

I am trying to plan an itinerary in Croatia and I'm stumped about what to do. I have two general ideas, and would really appreciate any input. We will be flying from Germany in early June. We really want to see the stunning beaches we've heard so much about and this will be the focus of our trip - wandering and finding beaches and strolling with no schedule. Please let me know if any of you think it might still be too cold in June for this.

OPTION 1
We will be in Berlin, so it would be easiest to go from Berlin to Zagreb by air. I was considering making this flight and then traveling down the coast by car and making our way to Dubrovnik over 6 days. My questions regarding this option are:

1. How difficult is it to drive in Croatia? Are there are lot of bendy, scary roads? Are the other drivers very "adventurous"? High speeds?

2. Are there many nice places to stop?

3. Is it worth taking a ferry to one of the main islands like Hvar and Korkula? How long can we expect for travel time by ferry?

OPTION 2:
We could make our way from Berlin to Cologne, which we want to see anyway and go to Dubrovnik from there. But:

1. Are there enough beaches to explore nearby Dubrovnik (we could rent a car or take buses)?

2. Are the Elaphiti islands worth a visit for the beaches?

3. Will we be missing out on a lot if we don't do the length of the Croatian coast?

I would appreciate any input anyone can provide! Many thanks!

rosexmke

I wish someone who had done a costal trip had responded to you. You could type in "itinerary" or costal trip in the search box and see what others are already saying. We just stayed in dubrovnik and laid back after an exhausting week in Italy. There are many day trips from there by boat, bus or car rental if you want to use that as a base. However the costal part sounds great too you could, without a car, island hop by ferry and other boats. When I was there last May it was still "out of season" so harder to find the boat schedules but from my reading it sounds like it is very easy to do. The car ferry split to dubrovnik is much much slower and longer 9 hrs and the drive is 5 hours or longer. I might consider flying to split instead of Zagreb. I know you have many more questions unanswered.

batraveler

There is so much to say about Croatia - could go on and on for pages and pages! It is rich and varied.

1. It is very easy to drive in Croatia. There are some bendy roads but they are in good shape (at least when we were there in September and October). We have been on much scarier in Canada. Drivers are not nearly as "adventurous" as in other countries (i.e. Italy). Other than the Czech Republic we found it to be the most relaxing and easy country to drive in thus far. The speed limits are low. In fact, we got stopped for speeding! There are some areas (i.e. near Zadar) with high roads and wind warnings posted. Just be cautious. Zadar is worth a day trip in my opinion.

2. We rented a car from Zagreb, spent five days in Istria, then traveled down the coast (went to Plitvice, inland, on the way) and ended up at Dubrovnik for four days. We did find lots of nice places to stop - some unplanned.

3. Cannot respond to this question as we went to Ugljan and Pag, not Hvar and Korkula. I have heard that H and K are remarkable.

Second set:

1. There are a couple of beaches (to my knowledge) around Dubrovnik but the are rocky or pebbly. We found a great one at Trogir (coastal town near Split).

2. Did not go to these islands.

3. We loved doing the coastal route - it is dramatic. The sea is a perfect aquamarine - just fantastic.

Tuni01

We drove from Zagreb to Plitvice down to Split and turned in our car. We took ferry to Hvar and loved it. I highly recommend this island or others for the beaches and beautiful scenery. driving was no problem. we then came back to Split and took a bus to Dubrovnik (beautiful drive). We loved Croatia.

xyz99

We drove from Zagreb to Istria, spent few days there, the to Plitvice, Hvar Island (via ferry), then ferry through Korcula and Orebic to Dubrovnik, where we dropped off the car.
Roads and drivers in Croatia are fine – we had no problem and found a lot of places to stop. I would definitely recommend a few days on one of the islands. We visited Hvar and really enjoyed it; we only saw Korcula from the ferry, and it looked great, too. The time of the year you are going will make a difference in the ferry schedule…

The ferry from Split to Hvar was about 2 ½ hrs (I think), very enjoyable. The ferry from Hvar to Dubrovnik is long, about 8 hrs – we did not take it. As I mentioned earlier, we took a ferry to Orebic and drove through the Peljesac peninsula – beautiful drive, and allowed us to explore more of Croatia.

Can’t help with Elephiti islands – but whatever you decide to do, you will love Croatia. It’s a really beautiful country.

travellamb

Thanks everyone for all your help!

JerryS

We drove from the Italian Border to Dubrovnik along the coast and highly recommend the drive. It is so wonderfully scenic, exciting, interesting and, for the most part, uncluttered with touristic sites, etc. They advertise it as being like the Riviera 50 years ago. The coastal drive was one of the highlights of our visit to Croatia. However, make sure that you have insurance covering you in Croatia (check with your rental car company) and make sure you keep your drving lights on during the day. Otherwise, you can expect to be stopped and fined on the spot.
We spent 2 nights in Trogir, a charming small walled city, 15 minutes from Split, 3 nights in Cavtet, an alternative to staying in Dubrovnik but easily accessible to Dubrovnik via a 1/2 hour boat ride, and a few other nights elsewhere to break up the drive. If possible, try to drop the car off in Dubrovnik and fly home from there.
Suggest you go to Croatia and the surrounding area as soon as possible as it is changing fast, becoming more expensive and crowded and a bit less charming as time goes on.
Have a great trip.